OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says Canada will reject any requests for military help to combat a terrorist uprising sweeping Iraq.

"We are committed with working with the Iraqi leadership," he told the Commons on Monday as violence flared and reports of sectarian slaughters intensified.

"I should point out Canada has not been asked to participate in any military effort, nor is it something we are considering."

The United States is stepping up its naval presence in the Persian Gulf and is considering other military measures to help the Iraqi government repel an offensive by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

The Sunni terrorist group claims it has massacred hundreds of Shiite members of Iraq's security forces. Some estimates put the number into the thousands.

Baird said the ISIS was listed by Canada as a terrorist group in 2012.